1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanism for detecting an unlocked state of connectors in a structure in which a connector having a lock slider is engaged with a mating connector, and the slider is pushed in so that the connectors are locked.
2. Related Art
FIGS. 19A and 19B show a connector locking mechanism disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-50981.
In this mechanism, a lock lever 52 is rotatably provided to a female connector 51, and a male connector 53 is engaged with the female connector 51. The lock lever 52 is then rotated by hand so as to be engaged with the rear of the male connector 53.
The lock lever 52 is supported by the female connector 51 with a pin shaft 54, and energized by a coil spring 55 in the longitudinal direction. The lock lever 52 is provided with a stopper frame 56, and a stopper protrusion 57 for holding the stopper frame 56 is formed inside the male connector 53.
In the case where the lock lever is not rotated, as shown in FIG. 19A, an electrical equipment cover 5 interferes with the tip of the lock lever 52, and cannot be attached to an electric equipment main body 59. Thus, the unlocked state of the connectors can be detected. After the male connector 53 is locked by rotating the lock lever 52, the cover 58 covers the main body 59, as shown in FIG. 19B.
With the above conventional structure, however, there have been a few problems. First of all, after a locking operation, the resiliency of the coil spring 55 works all the time. If left in a high temperature and high humidity over a long period of time, the stopper frame and other parts are deformed and end up unlocking the connectors. Secondly, since the lock lever 5 always stands from the female connector 51, deformation and damage are often caused due to outside pressure. The pin shaft 54 and the coil 55 required in attachment of the lock lever 52 also increase the assembly and production costs.
FIGS. 20A to 20C show a connector structure disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-74483.
In this structure, a slide lever 62 is slidably provided to a female connector 61 in a direction perpendicular to the connector engagement direction. A male connector 63 is provided with an inclined groove 65 for engaging a protrusion 64 of the slide lever 62, so that the male connector 63 can be pulled into the female connector 61 by pushing the slide lever 62 in.
In the initial engagement state of the male connector 63 and the female connector 61, as shown in FIG. 20B, the slide lever 62 is pushed out. The slide lever 62 is then pushed in, as shown in FIG. 20C, so that the connectors 61 and 63 are engaged.
With the above conventional structure, however, if the slide lever 62 is not pushed in, the connectors 61 and 63 remains unconnected, and the unlocked state will go undetected. Furthermore, since the protrusion 64 is engaged with the inclined groove 65, the locking ability of the slide lever 62 is not high enough to lock the connectors.